Dell Goes On a Diet, Releases "Thinnest Ever" Notebook

Dell (DELL) is taking aim at Apple’s (AAPL) stylish MacBook Air.

Dell says its new Adamo laptop is the world’s thinnest notebook - it’s 0.65 inches thick compared with 0.76 inches for the MacBook.

But does anyone care about 0.11 of an inch?

The slight difference in thickness suggests how close computers have become in all aspects except image - and nutcase devotion to a brand. But image is the thing, sometimes the only thing, that’s important to some. Anyone who says anything slightly critical about Apple is sure to hear from its legions of harpies, but never mind because Dell has decided to play Apple’s game by flogging the looks of its new computer. (Note to Dell: no one can match Apple for design smarts.)

Adamo, in case you were wondering, is Latin for “to fall in love with.” The new Dell computer starts at $1,999 and an upgraded version sells for $2,699. This looks like Dell’s new high-end brand in the laptop sector. Apple’s counterpart starts at $1,799.

Dell’s new computer weighs in at 4 pounds, a full 16 ounces clunkier than Apple’s MacBook Air. Oh, the horror!

Should you be wondering, Dell’s new notebook computer comes with a 13.4-inch screen and a 128-gigabyte drive.

Other computer makers, including Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Sony (SNE) and Lenovo (LNVGY) offer lightweight notebook computers, dubbed “ultraportables” by some.

“This is for the customer that has that discerning taste, and is willing to pay a little more for that,” John New, a Dell marketing executive, told Reuters.

Oh please, give us solid, reliable equipment at a good price because the world doesn’t need Dell clones of Apple aficionados running amok about which laptop looks better.

But the idea is intriguing: Maybe the Dell lovers could decimate the Apple fans and the rest of us could get back to work.